1 [Chapter 1] The Legend of the 10 Heroes
"Long ago, in the world of Lucinda there lied a vast land of green that covered hill after hill, a sea of water that flowed past the horizons infinitely, and a sun that shined across the whole world. On that vast land lived men and women, elves, dwarves, and more. In the calm sea lived many species of fish, mammals, and other creatures. They all lived in harmony, embraced by the warmth of the sun which was given and blessed by our goddess Lucinda.
"Although their skin colors, cultures, and traditions were different they all worshipped the same Goddess. Everyone worshipped and loved the Goddess, for She granted them powers to protect themselves from harm, blessed the land with resources to help them create homes and find food, but most important of all She granted them life.
"With the blessing of life, every child was born with a birth mark and each birth mark was different. With this, one was able to find their soulmate. It will glow when you first meet your soulmate, and to confirm it you would look and see if the birth marks matched. If it did, it would become the best day of your life.
"The peace continued for a long time. Then one day, their Goddess stopped answering their prayers. The land started to die, the sea began to stir, and the sun stopped shining.
"A demon had awoken from his slumber.
"This demon terrorized the land with his Curses. He swooped across all of Lucinda and cast a dark cloud in the skies, rendering them speechless. The warmth that once kissed their skins turned cold and the people began to panic. Everyone scattered, searching for a place where the darkness hadn't yet reached- searching for a piece of land where the sun was still shining down on.
"Some tried to fight off the demon with the powers that Lucinda gave them, but the people had never learned how to fight. How could they when they had lived in a time of peace since the beginning? The demon quickly overpowered all the people and cursed them:
'For all of eternity, never again will you be able to find the one that you are destined to love. I curse you! I will take away the things Lucinda has given you and make them all mine.'
"With this curse, the demon cast his spell and began his tyrannical reign over Lucinda.
"He took away birth marks which prevented people from finding their soulmates, took away their powers, and then built himself a castle. With his Curses, he brainwashed people and forced them to do his biddings. He drowned himself in all the finest things man could offer and used women to satisfy his desires."
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"Wow, that's mean," the little boy said, his eyes wide with fear and his chin resting on the palms of his hands. I narrowed my eyes playfully at the little boy sitting cross-legged on the carpet in front of my tall desk as I re-told this story for him again, silently daring him to interrupt my story one more time. The little boy giggled but kept quiet for the rest of the story.
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"He used his Curse and created an army out of the corpses around him. He ruled Lucinda in what we now call 'the Dark Age's' for 150 years. Since he had the blood of demons, he was able to live longer than normal humans. Within those 150 years of suffering, many people have tried to kill the demon to no avail. But then-"
The child suddenly perked up and squealed in delight, "the Heroes! The 10 Heroooeeesss," he sang as he clapped his hands and bounced up and down on his knees. I let out a sigh as I smiled at his reaction.
"Yes, yes the 10 Heroes. This is the part you've been waiting for isn't it?" I let out a loud booming laugh as he nods his head in earnest. "Alright let me continue then."
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"In the midst of the Dark Age, there was a man on the verge of death due to starvation. Before his last breath he clasped his hands together and yelled out:"
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I paused for a moment to clear my throat and then lowered it as I continued saying,
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"'Heed this old mans oracle. One day the sun will rise again and the demon will fall to the ground in ashes. A miracle! Our goddess Lucinda has not forsaken us, she will bless our children!
'10 heroes for the 100 years we'll suffer,
a spectrum of light to shine upon us
not one too many, just enough
to bless the shadows of our sins,
will the heavens then sigh and part again'
"and with that, the man heaved his last breath and collapsed. Not a hundred years later, 10 Heroes who had received the blessings of Lucinda came forward and started gathering an army. They were a mixture of children, teens, and adults who were blessed with unique powers to defeat the Tyrannical Demon King.
Along their way to the Demon King's Castle people questioned their strength, but the hope outweighed the fear and slowly, more and more people began to follow the Heroes. Soon, the 10 Heroes were accompanied by more than half the human population and in 3 years time they finally reached the Demon King's Castle and the war began. The war would last for 22 years and result in victory... for human kind.
"After the victorious battle, the 10 Heroes split off in to regions and each created their own kingdoms. The people followed and settled down with the Hero that they had grown attached to. With the death of the Demon King, all of his Curses were destroyed and all that he had taken for himself came back to everyone.
The Heroes powers and techniques were passed on through generations, and as time passed and the world started getting more peaceful, magic and other techniques evolved and transformed over time. People began building statues of the 10 Heroes everywhere, and 'The Legend of the 10 Heroes' was recorded down in history to be remembered by those that came after..."
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"Wow..." the child said in awe as he stared up at his father. "I love hearing you tell me about the story of 'The Legend of the 10 Heroes'. It's more exciting than reading it again and again every day with Mrs. Cynnaid."
The little boy rushes from his spot on the floor and dashes behind my desk to where I am sitting. I swing my chair around so that he can climb up on to my lap.
"Can you tell it to me again before I go to bed, father?" He asks expectantly with his crimson jeweled eyes. I gently brush aside his soft black, wavy hair and kiss him on his pale forehead.
"Not tonight, Noah. Your mother will be very angry that I kept you up late with the story of 'The Legend of the 10 Heroes' again," I say as I chuckle against his forehead. "Maybe another night when I haven't already told you the story for the nth time," Noah lets out a squeal of laughter as I get up from my office chair, lifting him into the air and then tucking him under my right arm as I carry him out of my office to put him to bed.
